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TRINITY  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 

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JH  _E  S  j?  JE  JEv  j, 


<« 


AND 


should  occur  but  once. 

On  page  65,  6th  line,  read  ,;  came"  for  "come." 

On  page  95,  one  line  from  the  bottom,  read 
"steeds"  for  "siuds." 

The  following  errors  appear  in  a  few  copies  of 
this  edition  : 

On  page  35,  last  line,  read  "though"  instead 
of  "through"  and  on  page  77.  6th  line,  "sung" 
instead  of  "  song.11 


ElESJPER, 


«* 


AND 


OTHER  POEMS, 


BY 

THEO.    H.   HILL 


"  Meantime,  not  emulous  of  highest  Praise, 

At  sweet  Parnassus'  flow'ry  Foot  I  lie, 
And  drink  enraptur'd  the  descending  Lays, 

Or  in  short  Plights  my  tender  Pinions  try: 
So  in  the  humble  Vale  the  Linnet  flies, 

While  the  strong  Eagle  sails  along  the  Skies." 

Thomas  Gibbous. 


RALEIGH: 

STROTHER    k    MARCOM    TUBLISIIERH. 
MDCCCLXI. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in 
the  year  1861, 

By    THEO.    II .    HILL, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office   of  the   District  Court  of  the 
Confederate  States,  for  the  District  of  Pam- 
lico, North  Carolina. 


- 


®o  Jordan  Wftambh,  <Jr., 

OF    RALEIGH,  N.  0., 

(as  a  trivial  token  or  no  light  esteem,) 
THIS  VOLUME 


IS  DEDICATED,  BY  niS  FRIEND, 

THE  AUTHOR. 


PEEFACE. 


The  author  styles  his  verses  "  Poems," 
in  compliance  with  a  courteous  custom, 
which  thus  entitles  all  compositions  in 
rhyme.  Written  in  moments  of  leisure, 
merely  for  his  own  amusement,  they 
are  published  now  at  the  suggestion  of 
friends,  whose  partiality  has  attributed 
to  them  an  intrinsic  merit  they  may  not 
really  possess. 

T.  H.  H. 
Raleigh,  December,  1861. 


CONTENTS. 


Hesper, 11 

Anacreontic, 13 

Love  Among  the  Roses  17 
Hope  of  Heaven,         -         -         -         -20 

To  L.  F.  P.  -        -        -        -        .  23 

Clouds  with  Silver  Linings,         -        -  25 

Duni  Vivimus,  Vivamus,-  28 

Despair,                                                  .  30 

Song  of  the  Butterfly,  33 

The  Star  above  .the  Manger,       -        -  37 

Antipodes, 41 

St.  Valentine's  Day,  -         -         -        -  43 

Ode  to  Sleep, 46 

Darkness, 48 

Banished  Rome      ....  49 


VIII  CONTENTS. 

Taking  a  Snooze,        -         .         -         -  51 

Indian  Summer,      ....  53 

Hope, 54 

Love, 58 

Joy, 60 

Violets, 61 

Wooed,  Won,  Forsaken,     -         -         -  65 

Reveille, 67 

The  Shadow  of  the  Rock,  -                  -  69 

Stella 70 

Dulcamara, 73 

The  Light  of  the  Lattice,         -         -  75 
"  My  Hopes  like  Waning  Watch-fires 

Glow," 76 

"  Tear  Down  that  Flag,"  -       -         -  78 

EARLIER  POEMS. 

Flowers  for  Mary       -         -         -        -  80 

Perdite  -       -  83 

The  Sunbeam, 85 

Horse  Halcyonse  87 

Life  and  Death, 91 

The  Combatants,  93 


HESPER. 


HESPEE. 


"  M*hat  time  the  stars  first  flocked  into  the  blue 
Behind  young  Hespcr,  Shepherd  of  the  eve." 

Thos.  Buchanan  Reap. 


The  brilliant  evening  Star  to-night, 
Gleams  through  the  dusky  air; 
As  though  some  seraph  in  his  flight, 
Through  the  unclouded  realms  of  light, 

Had  paused  an  instant  there ; — 
Had  paused  and  silently  surveyed 

The  dreaming  world  below ; 
Then  flown  away  to  Eden's  shade 

Where  "  living  waters  "  flow  : 
Mcthiuks  some  bright  unearthly  gem 


12  HESPER. 

Fell  from  his  flashing  diadem, 

For,  when  he  winged  his  flight  afar 

Through  the  enchanted  air, 

A  light  remained, — the  evening  star 

Shone  forth  serenely  there ! 

'  Tis  thus  the  great — the  good  depart, 

And  leave  a  beacon-light, 
To  cheer  the  pilgrim's  drooping  heart 

And  guide  his  feet  aright : 

Hence  we  revere  the  sage — the  seer 

Of  every  age  and  clime; 
Whose  priceless  gems  still  sparkle  here 

Upon  the  strand  of  time. 


ANACREONTIC. 


•*  I  awoke  the  next  morning  -with  an  aching  head  and  feverish  frame.  Ah, 
those  midnight  carousals,  how  glorious  they  would  be  if  there  were  no  next 
morning  ?"  * 

Sir  E.  Bulweb  Lvtton. 


Fill  up!  fill  up! 

The  poison-cup 

With  Lethe  to  the  brim; 
I  yearn — I  pine —  I  faint — I  thirst 

To  see  the  brilliant  bubbles  burst 

Around  its  rosy  rim  : 

Then,  let  me  drain 

The  bowl  again, 

And  fill  it  up  once  more  \ 

For  fearful  phantoms  haunt  my  brain, 

And  at  the  open  door 


♦rclham.  ch.  xxiii. 

13 


14  ANACREONTIC. 

A  ghastly  group  of  fiends  appear — 
Their  hollow  laughter  racks  niy  ear, 
See !  how  malignantly  they  leer 

Upon  the  wreck  they've  made  : 
They  little  care  that  honor,  wealth, 
And  home,  and  happiness,  and  health 

Are  blighted  and  betrayed  I 

Fill  up  !  fill  up  ! 
The  sparkling  cup : — 
It  is  with  Lethe  fraught ! 
It  drowns  reflection,  palsies  thought, 

Binds  memory  in  chains, 
And  bids  the  hot  blood  leap  and  dart, 
Like  molten  lava  from  my  heart 
To  fire  the  sluggish  veins ! 

Fill  to  the  brim  and  I  will  drink, 
"  To  Memory  and  Thought, 

Eternal  death," — for  oh !  to  tliinlc, 
Is  with  such  horror  fraught — 
That  hell  would  be 


ANACREONTIC.  15 

A  heaven  to  me 

Were  memory  no  more  : 
Aye  !  could  I  never  think  again — 

Never  the  past  deplore, 
I  should  no  longer  here  remain, 
For  hell  can  have  no  penal  pain 
In  all  its  fiery  domain, 

So  fearful  unto  me ; 
As  the  scorpion  sting 
Of  that  terrible  thing, 

Which  we  call  memory ! 

«J*  *i*  i'.  -.l-  »!.-  •£• 

^m  *y»  >J»  *X*  *T*  "T* 

To  dream  of  all  that  I  am  now — - 

Of  all  I  might  have  been — 
The  crown  of  thorns  upon  my  brow — 

The  gnawing  worm  within  J — 
Of  all  the  treasures  I  have  lost, 
Like  leaves  autumnal,  tempest-tost, — 

Of  sunbeams  into  clouds  withdrawn, 

Their  momentary  sparkle  gone, — 


16  ANACREONTIC. 

Of  murdered  hope,  and  blighted  bloom- 

0  God  !  how  horrible  my  doom  ! 

Yet  fill— fill  up  ! 
The  crimson  cup 
With  frenzy  to  the  brim  ! 

1  wildly  burn — I  madly  thirst 

To  see  the  blushing  bubbles  burst 
Around  its  ruby  rim  ! 


LOVE   AMONG  THE  ROSES. 


In  deepest  grap*,  beneath  the  whispering  roof 
Of  leaves  and  trembled  blossoms,  where  there  ran 
A  brooklet  scarce  espied:— 

Keats'  "  Ode  to  Psychi. 


I  have  found  liini !  Here  lie  lies, 

Weary  of  the  chase; — 
Lured  by  vagrant  butterflies 

To  this  shady  place : 
Hat  in  hand,  he  ran  for  hours, 
In  and  out  among  the  flowers, 
Following  each  golden  prize 
With  winged  feet  and  wistful  eyes. 

He  dreams  beneath  a  drooping  vine, 
Whose  graceful  trailers  intertwine, 

17 


18  LOVE   AMONG   THE   ROSES. 

Weaving  above  his  head  a  woof 
Of  dark  green  leaves  and  crimson  flowers  : 
In  vain  through  this  umbrageous  roof 
May  noontide  sunbeams  try  to  peep — 
He?e,  time  is  told  in  twilight  hours, 
While  "  infant  beauty  "  lies — asleep. 

Gray  birds  and  gorgeous  butterflies 

Flash  through  these  "purpling glooms,"* 

Where  zephyrs  woo  with  plaintive  sighs. 
The  hearts  of  hidden  blooms; 
Yet,  heedless  of  their  happy  flight, 
He  slumbers  still,  serenely  bright — 
Transfigured  in  the  shifting  light ! 

The  tinkling  bells  of  sylvan  streams, 

Which  wind  around  this  cool  retreat, 
Chime  to  the  music  of  his  dreams; 


*  And  softly  through  the  forest  bars 
Light  lovely  shapes,  on  glossy  plumes, 

Float  ever  in,  like  winged  stars, 
Amid  the  purp'ing  glooms. 

Amelia  B.  Wjlbt. 


LOVE   AMONG   THE   ROSES.  19 

For,  sheltered  from  the  glowing  heat, 
Their  laughing — sparkling  waters  meet 
To  ripple  at  his  rosy  feet ! 

Yes  !  I've  found  him ! 

All  around  him 
Blushing  flowers  bud  and  bloom ; 

Merrily  the  birds  are  singing — 

Drowsily  the  bees  are  clinging 

(Drunken  with  perfume) 
To  the  lilies  and  the  roses 
'  Kound  the  spot  where  love  reposes ! 


HOPE  OF  HEAVEN, 


1  O  where  shall  rest  be  found, 
Eest  for  the  weary  soul  ?" 

James  Montoomkbt. 


O  there  is  naught  upon  this  earth  of  our's 
The  restless  longings  of  the  soul  to  fill ; 

We  pant  for  fairer  fields  and  fresher  flowers — > 
For  purer  fountains  still. 

Our  drooping  souls,  like  captive  eagles,  pine 
To  breathe,  once  more,  their  native  atmos- 
phere— 

To  soar  above  the  cloud,  where  sunbeams  shine 
And  shadows  disappear. 

20 


HOPE   OF   HEAVEN.  21 

For  what  are  all  the  rosy,  dazzling  dreams — 
The  glowing  hopes  and  fleeting  joys  of  earth; — 

Its  fading  smiles — its  evanescent  gleams 
Of  happiness  and  mirth? 

Faint,  glimmering  moonbeams  falling  on  a  pall, 
Or  lighting  up  the  pathway  to  the  tomb — 

Wild  flowers  that  blossom  on  a  ruined  wall — 
Oases  in  the  gloom! 

These  are  the  joys  of  earth;  but  tell  me  where 
Are  its  wild  sorrows — its  harassing  fears? 

Where  are  the   clouds — the    shades  of  dark 
despair — 
That  haunt  u  this  vale  of  tears?" 

Oh  where  shall  rest  be  found?  A  stormy  tido 
Is  rushing  madly  onward  to  the  sea; 

Immortal  spirits  down  the  current  glide 
Into  Eternity. 


22  HOPE    OF   HEAVEN. 

Thrice  happy  he !  to  whom  the  change  of  time 
And  tide  may  leave  one  solitary  rock — 

An  Ararat,  eternal  and  sublime, 
Unshaken  by  the  shock  j — 

A  hope  op  heaven,  whose  summit  in  the  skies, 
(The  only  refuge  of  a  ruined  race) 

Smiles  through  the  storm — the   swelling  surge 
defies, 
And  stands — a  resting  place  ! 


TO  L,  F.  P. 


Oh  !  "when  the  dark,  tumultuous  tide 

Of  life  is  ebbing  fast  j — 
When  every  earthly  hope  has  died, 
Thy  memory  shall  still  abide, 

An  Eden  in  the  waste  : — 
"A  diamond  in  the  desert"  where 

A  silver  fountain  sings, 
And  birds  of  summer  fill  the  air 

With  merry  carolings  ; — 
A  land  of  beauty  and  of  bloom 
Whence  zephyrs,  freighted  with  perfume, 
On  wings  of  woven  light  convey 

The  sweets  of  Paradise  away  ! 

When  all  is  drear  and  desolate ; — 
When  o'er  the  waters  dark, 
20 


24  TO   L.    F.    P. 

(Like  thistle-down  before  the  blast, 
Or  dead  leaves  on  a  torrent  cast,) 
My  soul,  a  helinless  ark, 
Is  rudely — madly  driven  on 
Before  the  dread  Euroclydon 
Of  unrelenting  fate ; 
Then  brighter  than  the  sparkling  bow 

"Whose  sky-born  splendors  sat 
Like  gems  upon  the  regal  brow 

Of  rugged  Ararat, 
Over  the  dusky  wave  afar, 
Love's  scintillant  unchanging  star, 
From  the  bright  portal  of  the  past 
A  flood  of  golden  light  shall  cast, 
To  gild  the  gloomy  twilight  air 
And  shew  engraven  everywhere 
Thy  name, — the  first — the  last ! 


CLOUDS  WITH  SILVER  LININGS. 

AN  IMPROMPTU  ADDRESS  TO  JOB'S  COMFORTERS. 


"Clouds  have  silver  linings j" — 
Thus  the  poet  sings, 
To  stifle  vain  repinings 
And  silence  murinurings ; 
But  in  the  cloud  above  me 
No  'silver*  do  I  see; 
Now  Poet,  'an'  you  love  nie," 
Prithee !  shew  it  unto  me ! 

The  words  which  you  have  spoken 
Perchance  arc  very  true, 
Yet,  until  the  cloud  be  broken 
And  the  sunlight  pecpeth  through, 
This  thought  of  "silver  linings" 
25 


26  CLOUDS  WITH  SILVER  LININGS. 

But  awakens  fresh  repinings, 
For  you  must  surely  see,  Sir — 
Though  truthful  you  may  be,  Sir — 
That  the  dark  side  is  for  me,  Sir, 
"While  the  bright  side  is  for  you ! 

Even  were  its  '  lining '  golden — 

If  it  may  not  be  beholden — 

Pray,  tell  me !  Mr.  Poet, 

Is  it  comforting  to  know  it — 

Unless  you  mean  to  shew  it? 

Your  well-meant  information 

Gives  me  no  consolation; 

For  the  sky  is  none  the  brighter, 

Nor  the  cloud  a  shade  the  lighter 

Unto  me, 
From  knowing  that  behind  it — 
If  I  can  ever  find  it — 

There  may  be 
A  sun  that  shines  forever 
But  which  I  alas !  may  never 

Chance  to  see ! 


CLOUDS  WITH  SILVER  LININGS.  27 

So  dark  the  cloud  that  hovers 

In  my  sky  to-night, 
I  cannot  think  it  covers 

A  single  gleam  of  light: 
Now,  prove  your  aphorism, — 

If  such,  indeed,  it  be — 
Dispel  my  scepticism ! 

Or  prate  no  more  to  me ) — 
To  drive  away  each  shade  of  doubt, 
Pray,  turn  the  dark  child  inside  out! 


> . 


DUM  VIVIMUS,  VIVAMUS." 


"  Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof."— St.  Matt,  vi  :  34. 

Earth  is  not  an  El  Dorado, 

Nor  is  life  a  summer-day; 
Every  sunbeam  hath  a  shadow 

Chasing  it  away — 
Frail  Ephemera  that  perish, — 

Doomed  to  disappear; 
Those  we  love,  caress  and  cherish. 

May  not  linger  here: 
Pain  and  pleasure,  joy  and  sorrow. 

Here,  alternate,  come  and  go, — 
Which  of  these  we'll  have  to-morrow 

We  may  never  know. 

Gather  flowers — blushing  flowers — 

Which,  at  present ,  blow; 
Leave  the  buds — they  are  not  our's — 

They  for  others  grow. 

28 


DUM   VIVIMUS,    VIVAMUS. 

If  it  now  be  pleasant  weather, 

Let  us  merry  be, — 
Let  ns  laugh  and  sing  together. 

Why  repress  our  glee 
By  vain  speculations,  whether, 

In  the  future,  we 
Shall  be  gloomier,  or  gladder, 

Gayer  or  less  gay? 
Such  reflections  overshadow 

Beautiful  "To-Day!" 
Fretting — murmuring — repining. 

Darkens  every  sorrow  ; — 
For  regret  is  ever  twining 

Cypress  for  the  morrow. 

But  remember ! — Oh  !  remember 

In  thy  darkest  day, 
That  the  drearier  December, 

Brighter  is  th*1  May  : 
Earth  is  not  an  El  Dorado, 

Nor  is  life  a  summer-day: 
Every  sunbeam  hath  a  shadow 

Chasing  it   away. 


29 


DESPAIR. 


"  No  more,— no  more,— no  more  ! 

(Such  language  holds  the  solemn  sea 
To  the  sands  upou  the  shore,) 

Shall  bloom  the  thunder-blasted  tree, 
Or  the  stricken  eagle  soar  1 " 

Edgab  Allen  Pob. 


I  have  naught  to  hope  or  dread; 
All  save  sentience  is  dead; 
Peace,  with  Innocence,  has  fled. 

To  the  gloom  in  which  I  dwell, 
This  world's  darkest  dungeon-cell, 
Were  as  heaven,  unto  hell. 

Ye,  who  yet  may  hope  or  fear, 
Shun  this  sad  sepulchral  sphere ! — 
Rather  die  than  enter  here ! 
30 


DESPAIR.  31 

Each  unto  himself,  is  fate — 
Carver  of  his  own  estate — 
Be  it  blest  or  desolate ; 

Hence  how  soothing  is  the  thought — 
With  what  sweet  nepenthe  fraught — 
/  have  all  this  ruin  wrought  ;— 

/with  sorrow  chose  to  sup — 
Madly  drained  her  bitter  cup — 
Having  had — the  filling  wp  ! 

Fairest  flowers  soonest  die; 
Summer-friends  are  first  to  fly ; 
Memory  alone  is  nigh ! 

Of  the  many,  only  she 
Yet  remaineth  true  to  me  : 
Like  the  echo  of  the  sea, 

In  the  shell  upon  the  shore, 
She  abideth  evermore, 
Murmuring  of  heretofore, 


32  DESPAIR. 

In  my  heart  a  stranded  shell, 
Dashed  by  passion's  stormy  swell, 
On  the  burning  beach  of  hell ! 

I  have  naught  to  hope  or  dread ; 
All  save  sentience  is  dead; 
Peace,  with  Innocence,  has  fled ! 


SONG  OF  THE  BUTTERFLY 


"  What  more  felicity  can  fall  to  creature 
Than  to  enjoy  delight  with  liberty." 

Fate  op  thk  Buttkbfly. — Spknsbb. 


Who  is  merrier  than  I  ? 

Quoth  the  golden  butterfly, 

In  the  shining  court  of  May, 

Whose  apparel  half  so  gay  ? 

I  reflect  each  sparkling  hue 

Of  her  gaudy  retinue. 

I  have  kissed  the  Lily's  cheek, 

I  have  played  at  "  hide  and  seek," 

Blushing  Violet,  with  you  ! 

Who  is  merrier  than  I? 

Quoth  the  golden  Butterfly. 

33 


34  SONG  OF  THE  BUTTERFLY. 

II 

I  have  flirted,  too,  with  thee, 
Beautiful  Anemone  ! 
And  the  blue-eyed  Pimpernel, 
Is  superlatively  blest, 
Should  I  for  a  moment  rest, 
Down  in  yonder  grassy  dell  j 
Little  doth  she  dream  that  I 
From  her  soft  caresses  fly, 
But  to  breathe  the  sweet  perfume 
Of  the  pale  Magnolia  bloom  j 
Or  to  spend  a  listless  hour 
In  the  cool,  secluded  bower 
Of  the  pining  Passion-flower ! 
Blither  wooer,  who  than  I? 
Quoth  the  gaudy  Butterfly. 

III. 

When  the  shades  of  evening  fall 
Like  the  foldings  of  a  pall — 
When  the  dew  is  on  the  flowers 


SONG  OF  THE    BUTTERFLY.  35 

And  the  mute  unconscious  Hours 

Still  pursue  their  noiseless  flight 

Through  the  dreamy  realms  of  night, 

In  the  shut  or  open  rose 

Ah  !  how  sweetly  I  repose ! 

Zephyrs,  freighted  with  perfume, 

Gently  rock  my  cradle-bloom, 

Myriads  of  fire-flies 

From  the  dewy  leaves  arise, 

And  Diana's  starry  train, 

Sweetly  scintillant  again, 

Never  Bleep  while  I  repose 

On  the  petals  of  the  rose, 

Sweeter  couch  hath  who  than  I  ? 

Quoth  the  brilliant  Butterfly 

IV. 

Life  is  but  a  summer  day 
Gliding  languidly  away: 
Winter  comes  alas!  too  soon: 
Would  it  were  forever  June ! 
Yet  through  brief  my  flight  may  be, 


36  SONG  OF  THE   BUTTERFLY. 

Fun  and  frolic  still  for  me ! 
When  the  summer  leaves  and  flowers, 
Now  so  beautiful  and  gay, 
In  the  cold  autumnal  showers, 
Droop  and  fade  and  pine  away, 
Who  would  not  prefer  to  die? — 
What  were  life  to  such  as  If 
Quoth  the  flaunting  Butterfly. 


THE  STAR  ABOVE  THE  MANGER, 


One  night,  while  lowly  shepherd  swains 
Their  fleecy  charge  attended, 

A  light  burst  o'er  Judea's  plains, 
Unutterably  splendid. 

Far  in  the  dusky  orient, 

A  star,  unknown  in  story, 
Arose  to  flood  the  firmament, 

With  more  than  morning  glory. 

Tbe  clustering  constellations,  erst 

So  gloriously  gleaming, 
Waned,  when  its  sudden  splendor  burst 

Upon  their  paler  beaming. 
37 


38    THE  STAR  ABOVE  THE  MANGER. 

And  Heaven  drew  nearer  Earth  that  night- 
Flung  wide  its  pearly  portals — 

Sent  forth  from  all  its  realms  of  light 
Its  radiant  immortals : 

They  hovered  in  the  golden  air, 
Their  golden  censers  swinging, 

And  woke  the  drowsy  shepherds  there 
With  their  seraphic  singing. 


Yet  Earth  on  this — her  gala  night 
No  jubilee  was  keeping; 

She  lay,  unconscious  of  the  light, 
In  silent  beauty  sleeping. 


No  more  shall  brightest  cherubim 
And  stateliest  archangels 

Symphonious  sing  such  choral  hymn- 
Proclaim  so  sweet  evangels : 


THE   STAR   ABOVE    THE    MANGER.  39 

No  more  appear  that  star  at  eve, 

Though  glimpses  of  its  glory 
Are  seen  by  those  who  still  believe 

The  shepherd's  simple  story  : 

In  Faith's  clear  firmament  afar — 

To  Unbelief  a  stranger — 
Forever  glows  the  golden  star 

That  stood  above  the  manger. 


Age  after  age  may  roll  away, 
But  on  Time's  rapid  river, 
The  light  of  its  celestial  ray 

Shall  never  cease  to  quiver. 


Frail  barges  on  the  swelling  tide 
Are  drifting  with  the  ages. — 

The  skies  grow  dark — around  each  bark 
A  howling  tempest  rages ! 


40         THE   STAR   ABOVE   THE   MANGER. 

Pale  with  affright,  lost  helmsmen  steer, 
While  creaking  timbers  shiver — 

The  breakers  roar — Grim  Death  is  near- 
Oh  !  who  may  now  deliver  ! 


Light — light  from  the  Heraldic  Star 
Breaks  brightly  o'er  the  billow ; 

The  storm,  rebuked,  is  fled  afar, 
The  pilgrim  seeks  his  pillow. 


Lost — lost  indeed,  his  heart  must  be- 
His  way  how  dark  with  danger, 

Whose  hooded  eye  may  never  see 
The  Star  above  the  manger! 


ANTIPODES. 


On  those  dismal  Polar  plains, 
Where  relentless  winter  reigns — 
Where,  amid  eternal  snow, 
Dwell  the  squalid  Esquimaux ; 
When  Morning  awakes 
And  laughingly  shakes 

The  light  from  her  luminous  hair; 
How  bright  are  the  beams, 
Which  scatter  the  dreams 

Of  the  shivering  slumberers  there  ! 

When  the  sleepers  arise, 

How  sweet  the  surprise 

Of  radiant  skies, 

Whence  Aurora  exiles, 
41 


42  ANTIPODES. 

With  her  scintillant  smiles, 
The  gloom  of  an  Arctic  night ! 

Yet  oh  !  there  are  times, 

In  the  sunniest  climes, 
"When  shadow  is  sweeter  than  light ! 

When  weary  of  day 

And  sick  of  its  shine 

We  languish  and  pine 

For  its  passing  away ! 


ST.   VALENTINE'S  DAY. 


Hidden  no  longer, 

In  moss-covered  ledges, 
Starring  the  wayside 

Under  the  hedges, 
Violets,  pimpernels, 

Flashing  with  dew, 
Daisies  and  asphodels 

Burst  into  view. 

Down  in  the  bosky  dells 

Everywhere, 
Faintly  their  fairy  bells 

Chime  in  the  air. 
Thanks  to  the  sunshine  ! 
43 


44  ST.  valentine's  day. 

Thanks  to  the  showers  ! 
They  come  again, — come  again 
Beautiful  flowers ! 

Twittering  sparrows  flit 
Merrily  by ; 

Skylarks  triumphantly 
Warble  on  high  : 

Echo,  who  slumbers 
So  long  in  the  glen, 

Awakens  to  mimic 
The  song  of  the  wren  : 

For  thanks  to  the  sunbeams  ! 
Thanks  to  the  showers  ! 

They  bud  again — bloom  again- 
Beautiful  flowers! 

The  mocking  bird  too — 
The  sweetest  of  mimes — 

Is  prodigal  now 

Of  his  jubilant  rhymes! 

And  my  heart  is  so  light — 


ST.  valentine's  day.  45 

So  cheery  to-day, 
I  fancy  I  hear, 

In  his  rapturous  lay, 
The  music  I  heard 

In  those  halcyon  hours, 
When  Love  to  my  heart 

(Like  Spring  to  her  bowers,) 
First  came  to  awaken 

Hope's  beautiful  flowers  ! 


ODE   TO    SLEEP, 


Come  gentle  Sleep  !  and  hither  bring  to  me, 
The  beetle's  drone — the  buzzing  of  the  bee, — 
All  slumbrous   sounds   which   Silence  loves  to 

hear — ■ 
Which  steal  like  balm  into  the  drowsy  ear; 
Let  summer-rain  fall  softly  from  the  eaves 
While    fragrant   zephyrs  whisper   through    the 

leaves: 

II 

To  every  care  some  sweet  nepenthe  bring — 
Benumb  each  sense — bid  Sorrow  cease  to  sting; — > 

46 


ODE   TO  SLEEP.  47 

From  dreamless  rest  let  him  awake  no  more 
Who  only  lives,  existence  to  deplore; 
Haste  !  Siren,  haste!  low  lullabies  to  sing 
Until  I  die  beneath  the  shadow  of  thy  wing. 

Ill 

Haste,  soothing  Sleep !  Bring  with  thee  noiseless 

Night, 
For  I  would  now  no  more  behold  the  light  : 

Since  dawn  of  day  comes  only  to  betray 
Hope's  brightest  blossoms  withering  away — 
Unveils,  before  unsympathizing  eyes, 
A  heart  whose  woe  no  masking  may  disguise, 
Cimmerian  Gloom — Egyptian  Shadow  now 
Chase  the  accursed  sunlight  from  my  brow! 


DARKNESS, 


As  when  with  eager  straining  eyes. 
We  gaze  on  gloomy  twilight  skies 
Until  we  falsely  dream  that  we, 
For  one  brief  instant,  dimly  see 
The  smile  of  some  capricious  star 
Flash  through  the  murky  clouds  afar; 
So  my  bewildered  heart,  to-night, 
Gropes  blindly,  seeking  hidden  light: 
Its  mournful  introverted  eye, 
Now  fixed  upon  a  darker  sky, 
Would  fain  explore  the  mirksome  maze, 
Dispel  the  twilight's  misty  haze, 
And  call  to  its  enraptured  gaze 
From  out  their  petulant  eclipse, 

The  smiles  that  shone  on  Laura's  lips. 
48 


BANISHED  ROME, 


"  Tell  him  you  saw  Caius  Marius  sitting,  au  exile,  amidst  the  ruins  of  Car- 
thage." Histoby  of  Rome. 

When  earthly  hopes  have  flown  away — 

When  skies  are  dark  and  drear, 
Why  should  the  weary  spirit  stay 

Repining  here  ? 
Why,  like  yon  Roman,  linger  where 
The  wreck  of  pomp  and  power ; — 
The  crumbling  column,  reared  in  air, — 
The  fallen  fane — the  time-worn  tower 
Tell  of  a  brighter  hour  ? 

The  laurel  from  his  haughty  brow 

Has  fallen  long  ago  ; 
Why  seeks  the  hapless  exile  now 

Memorials  of  wo  ? 

49 


50  BANISHED    ROME. 

Is  there  a  luxury  in  grief — 

Aud  do  the  wretched  find  relief, 

In  feeling  that  their  lost  estate 
Is  shared  however  desolate  ? 

It  must  be  so  !     A  type  thou  art 

Oh  Carthage  in  decay  ! 
Of  many  a  noble  Roman  heart 

Whose  hopes  are  swept  away  ! 
Low  in  the  dust  of  desolation  laid, 

Well   may    the   fallen   seek    thy   friendly 
shade — 
The  exile  find,  a  sister  now  in  thee 

Who  art  no  longer  Empress  of  the  Sea  ! 


TAKING  A  SNOOZE. 


r 

"  'While  I  nodded,  nearly  napping." 

The  Raven. 

The  drowsy  hum  of  the  murmuring  bees, 

Hovering  over  the  lavender  trees, 

Steals  through  half-shut  lattices ; 

As  awake  or  asleep — I  scarce  know  which — 

I  lazily  loll  near  a  window-niche, 

Whose  gossamer  curtains  are  softly  stirred 

By  the  gauzy  wings  of  a  humming-bird. 

From  airy  heights,  the  feathery  down, 
Blown  from  the  nettle's  nodding  crown, 
Weary  with  wandering  everywhere, 
Sails  slowly  to  earth   through  the  sultry  air; 

51 


62  TAKING   A   SNOOZE. 

While   indolent   zephyrs,    "  oppressed  with 

perfume," 
Stolen  from  many  a  balmy  bloom, 
Are  falling  asleep  within  the  room. 

Now  floating  afar — now  hovering  near 

Dull  to  the  eye  and  dumb  to  the  ear, 

Grow  the  shapes  that  I  see — the  sounds  that 

I  hear  ; 
Every  murmur  around  dies  into  my  dream 
Save  only  the  song  of  a  sylvan  stream, 
Whose  burthen,  set  to  a  somnolent  tune, 
Has  lulled  the  whispering  leaves  of  June. 

All  things  are  hazy,  and  dreamy,  and  dim, 

The  flies  in  lazier  circles  swim; 

On  slumbrous  wings — on  muffled  feet 

Imaginary  sounds  retreat; 

And  the  clouds — Elysian  isles  that  lie 

In  the  bright  blue  sea  of  summer  sky — 

Fade  out,  before  my  closing  eye. 


INDIAN  SUMMER, 

(A  Fragment) 


These  are  mild  delicious  days; 
Gleaming  through  the  golden  haze, 
Which  around  the  landscape  plays, 
Every  object  now  assumes 
Mellow  lights,  or  dreamy  glooms  : — 
Things  once  distant  now  are  near ; 
Fainter  seem  the  sounds  we  hear ; 
Feebler  now  is  Zephyr's  sigh, 
And  yet  lower  the  reply 
Of  the  rills  that  murmur  by. 

High  upon  his  airy  throne, 

(Girdled  with  a  misty  zone) 

Rides  the  pallid  sun  at  noon, 

Seeming  but  a  brighter  moon; 

Lazily  his  tempered  rays 

Measure  these  enchanting  days. 
53 


HOPE. 


Bright  hopes  blossom  day  by  day — 

Blossom  but  to  leave  us ; 
Those  that  liuger  longest  stay 

That  they  may 
Still  more  heartlessly  deceive  us  : 
Yet  in  sorrows  darkest  hour, 

They  have  power 
Light  and  rapture  to  impart ; 
As  the  sunbeam  to  the  shower, 

Hope  !  thou  art ! 
When  thou  shinest  rainbows  start 
From  the  gloomy  clouds  which  lower 

Over  my  desponding  heart ! 


HOPE.  55 

II. 

Hope  !  those  ruby  lips  of  thine, 

(So  beguiling !) 
Mingle  April  shade  and  shine 

In  their  smiling : 
Why  relievest  thou  my  pain, 
But  to  fly  away  again, — 
Leaving  me  alone  to  mope, 
A  repining  misanthrope  ? 
Teasing — Tantalizing  Fay  ! 

Stay!— Oh!  Stay! 

III. 

Thou  art  here  anon, — and  then, 
Pipest  in  some  lonely  glen  : — 
Now  thou  hauntest  dark  morasses, 
Swathed  in  dank  and  dewy  grasses, 

Far  from  the  abodes  of  men  : 
There,  thy  fairy  lamp  is  lighted — 
TJt  ither,  its  illusive  ray 
Leads  the  credulous,  benighted, 
"Way-worn  wanderer  astray ; 


56  HOPE. 

And  when  he  has  lost  his  way, 

(Sink  or  swim) 
In  the  dark  thou  leavest  him  ! 


IV. 

Incarnation  of  the  Graces  ! 
Let  me  hear  once  more  the  sweet 
Falling  of  thy  fairy  feet ! — 
Come,  and  scatter  bright  oases 
In  this  gloomiest  of  places  ! — 
Hither  from  thy  far  retreat, 
Haste  to  cheat  me  !    Thy  deceit 
I  have  never  chidden  yet; 
'Tis  the  cruel  undeceiving, 

I  regret : — 
There  can  never — never  be 
In  my  heart  a  shade  of  grieving, 

Save  when  thou 

Art,  as  now, 
On  the  eve  of  leaving  me ! 


HOPE.  57 

V. 

Witching  Fairy! — Airy  Sprite! 
Must  I  bid  thee,  now,  "good  night?" 
And  shall  my  sad  heart  in  vain, 
Pine  for  thee  to  call  again  ? 
Promise !  that  at  dawn  of  day 
I  shall  see  thy  plumage  gay! 
Then,  sweet  "Phantom  of  Delight! 
Thou  mayst  wing  thy  wanton  flight, 
Bidding   me    "Good    Night!"    "Good 

Night!" 
If  that  night — good  night  can  be 
When  I  bid  adieu  to  thee  ! 


LOVE. 


Love  is  a  lamp  unseen 
Burning  to  waste,  or,  if  its  light  is  found, 
Nursed  for  an  idle  hour,  then  idly  broken." 

Paerhasius. — N.  P.  Willis 

Not  so  !  Not  so  !  Love's  lamp  is  not  unseen ; 
It  never  burns  to  waste, — is  never  quenched  : — 
His  is  a  vestal  lamp,  whose  virgin  flame 
Illumes  the  dark  with  pure  and  steady  glow ; 
And  should  its  feeblest  scintillation  fall, 
It  would  not  lie  unheeded  where  it  fell, — 
It  might  not  perish  there  or  otherwhere, 
For  Love,  coeval  with  the  throne  of  God, 
Is  coexistent  with  Eternal  Life  ! 

He  moves  on  earth — a  page  in  Beauty's  train ; 
He  follows  her — a  rapt  idolater — 

58 


LOVE.  59 

Gloats  on  her  glances — feeds  upon  her  smiles — 
Lights,  with  his  lamp,  her  pathway  through  the 

dark, 
And  keeps  a  lonely  vigil  while  she  sleeps : 
He  only  knows  her  worth,  and  spies  in  her 
A  thousand  graces  others  may  not  see : 
Beauty  would  live  for  him — he  die  for  her  ; 
They  cannot  dwell  apart — they  came  from  Heaven 
Heirs  of  immortal  life — and  when  at  length 
She  vanishes  from  earth,  He  flies  with  her; — 
They  seek  together,  undiscovered  lands — I 
They  float  like  Summer-birds,  on  halcyon  plumes, 
To  blend  the  myrtle  with  the  orange-flower — 
To  build,  in  brighter  climes,  their  bridal  bower. 


JOY. 


"  The  laughing  Hours  before  her  feet, 
Are  icattering  spring-time  roses." 

Paul  H.  Haynb. 

With  light  upon  her  rosy  lip 

And  laughter  in  her  eye, 
Whence  came  the  maiden  ? — Did  she  slip, 

With  sunbeams,  from  the  sky  ? — 
Steal  from  the  gate  of  Paradise, 

When  no  one  else  was  by  ? 
How  merrily  she  seems  to  skip  ! 

What  mirthful  songs  arise, 
As  bounding,  like  an  antelope, 

Who  (full  of  fear,  as  she  of  hope) 
The  baffled  hunter  flies ; 

She  leaveth  me,  alone,  to  mope — 
A  melancholy  misanthrope  I 
60 


VIOLETS. 

(From  "  Viola"  an  unpublished  Poem.') 


A  violet  by  a  mossy  stone, 

Half  hidden  from  the  eye, 
Fair  as  a  star  when  only  one 

Is  shining  in  the  sky.— WohdsworTH. 

Oh  !  where  on  earth  may  Beauty  hide  ? — 
In  unobtrusive  grace  abide 

Unnoticed  and  unknown  ? — - 
To  what  far  distant  spot  retire, 
Where  none  may  love — where  few  admire, 

To  live  and  die  alone  ? 
Although  no  sparkling  coronet 
Upon  her  beaming  brow  is  set 
She  sways  a  regal  scepter  yet, 
While  Innocence,  wherever  met — 

In  garb  however  lowly, 
Will  still,  unconsciously,  proclaim 
Her  lofty  mission  and  her  name, — 
61 


62  VIOLETS. 

Sing  of  the  clirue  from  whence  she  came 

And  tell  us  she  is  holy : — 
Spirits,  communing  with  the  skies, 
Have  heavenly  glances  in  their  eyes ! 


In  unfrequented  places, 

Where  sunbeams  cannot  peep- 
Where  Echo's  faintest  echo 

Is  lying  fast  asleep — 
These  timid  woodland  graces 

From  dewy  leaves  arise — 
Unveil  their  blushing  faces — 

Uplift  their  beaming  eyes, 
Less  fearful  in  seclusion, 
Of  impudent  intrusion 

Or  surprise ; 
Yet  each  of  these  recluses-. 
While  budding  into  bloom, 
L  itco/t.scious/y  diifuses 
Sweet  perfume ; 
And,  ere  they  seem  aware, 


VIOLETS.  63 

The  censers  which  tikey  bear 
Reveal  unto  the  air 

Where  they  dwell  ; 
And  the  breezes  as  they  blow 

To  and  fro, 
In  sweetest  odor  tell 
Of  dingle  and  and  of  dell 
As  yet  unshone  upon 

By  the  sun  : — 
They  guide  on  eager  feet, 
'To  the  shadowy  retreat 

Of  the  Nun, 
All  who  love  to  stand 
Awhile  on  Iwhj  land; 
Who  feel  assured  again, 
So  long  as  then  remain, 
That  Innocence,  on  earth, 
Yet  loiters,  loth  to  fly 
To  purer  realms  on  high — 
V.-miits  not  her  heavenly  birth, 
Nor  publishes  her  worth 
To  <jjaze  of  mortal  eye. 


64  VIOLETS. 

But  waits  to  drop  in  death 

The  masque — the  dark  disguise, 

When  with  her  parting  breath 
A  radiant  seraph  flies. 

Alas  !  how  often  we 

Externals  only  see — 

How  often  we  despise, 

Or  look  with  listless  eyes 

On  those  in  humble  guise, 

Nor  know,  until  they  disappear 

That  guardian  angels  lingered  near? 


WOOED,  AVON,  FORSAKEN. 

("From  Viola:') 


"  And  where  the  Spring-time  sun  had  longest  shone, 
The  violet  looked  up  and  found  itself  alone." 

Thos.  Buchanan  Read. 

Thou  art  languishing  and  pining 

Blue-eyed  One  ! 
Thou  art  drooping  and  declining, 
And  thou  faintest  for  the  shining 

Of  the  sun  • 
For  the  sunbeam  come  to  sue  thee — 
To  worship  thee,  and  woo  thee, 
But  to  ruin  and  undo  thee 

Lovely  Bloom ! 
He  smiled  but  to  deceive  thee — 
To  blight  thee  and  bereave  thee 

Of  perfume, — 
Then  heartlessly  to  leave  thee 

To  thy  doom ! 
65 


66  WOOED,    WON,    FORSAKEN. 

Thou  hopest  in  thy  sorrow, 
He  will  conie  again  to-morrow, 

Nor  depart, 
(His  long  delay  forgiven) 
To  his  bright  abode  in  heaven, 
Until  his  smile  has  driven 

From  thy  heart, 
The  weight  which  now  oppresses, 
And  the  grief  which  now  distresses 
While  he  murmurs,  as  he  blesses 
Thee  with  ravishing  caresses, 

"  How  beautiful  thou  art  I" 
But  alas  !  thy  hopes  are  failing, 
Thy  prayers  are  unavailing, 
For  wintry  winds  are  wailing 

As  they  fly ; 
Thou  shalt  sleep  without  awaking — 
Thy  heart  no  longer  aching — 
When  morning  beams  are  breaking 

On  the  sky ! 


REVEILLE. 


Awake  !  Arise  !  no  longer  be 

A  laggard  in  the  race  ! 
O  thou  who  wouldst  thy  fellow  free, 

Burst  first  the  chains  which  shackle  thee- 
Insignia  of  disgrace ! 

Arise !  and  muster  all  thy  might ! 

Stand  foremost  in  the  van  ! 
He  who  unfurls  the  flag  of  Right, 

Must  march  a  hero  in  the  fight — 

Must  be  himself  a  man  ! 

• 
To  Arms  !     Let  sluggards  idly  stand — 

Let  cravens  skulk  and  cower  ! 
'Tis  thine  to  wield  a  battle-brand, 

Whose  touch  will  nerve  thy  failing  hand 
With  supra-mortal^  power  ! 
67 


68  REVEILLE. 

In  vain  may  stalwart  foes  assail, 

The  champion  of  Right; 
For  panoplied  in  triple  mail 

The  true  of  heart  can  never  fail- 
Are  never  put  to  flight ! 


THE  SHADOW   OF  THE   ROCK. 


"  The  Shadow  of  a  Great  Rock  in  a  weary  land."— Isaiah  xxxil :  2. 

Lost  in  Sahara's  trackless  wilds,  in  vain 
Wouldst  thou  shake  off  the  darkness  of  despair, 
Thou  reelest  blindly  in  the  "noontide  glare 
Athirst  and  weary  o'er  the  burning  plain : 
Long  hast  thou  trod  beneath  thy  bleeding  feet 
The  glowing  sand,  a  fearful  death  to  die, 
While  sparkling  fountains  burst  upon  thine  eye 
And  grouping  palm  trees  spread  a  shelter  from 

the  heat. 
Far — far  away,  beside  a  gloomy  hearth, 
Where  feebly  now  the  fading  embers  burn, 
Thy  hoary  sire,  and  she  who  gave  thee  birth 
Heart-broken  wait  to  welcome  thy  return; — 
God    shield   thee  !     hapless    straggler  from  the 

flock 
And  hide  thee  now  within  tlt<  thadotooftherock! 

69 


STELLA, 


"  Ah !  Psyche,  from  the  regions  which 
Are  Holy  Land!" 

Edgar  Allan  Pos. 

Star  of  my  soul  !  I  saw  thee  rise 
In  trembling  beauty  o'er  a  sea  : — 

A  silent  sea — the  past  that  lies 
Asleep  in  memory. 

My  spirit  caught  the  hallowed  beams 
That  fell  on  the  enchanted  air  ; 

An  unseen  seraph  in  my  dreams 
Sealed  thy  bright  image  there. 

Around  me  fell  a  golden  glow 

That  flushed  the  amaranthine  flowers, 

Whose  censers,  swinging  to  and  fro, 
Perfumed  the  midnight  hours  : 
70 


STELLA.  71 

For  Hope,  who  long  on  wanton  wing, 

Coquetted  coyly  with  Desire, 
Now  deigned  to  robe  the  meanest  thing 

In  beautiful  attire. 


She  nestled  in  my  happy  heart : — 
She  whispered  in  my  rosy  dream, 

That  she  would  never  more  depart — 
Thou  shouldst  forever  beam. 

But  now,  alas !  the  scowling  sky 
Is  scarred  by  livid — lurid  levin ; 

I  dare  not  look  again  on  high 
To  miss  my  star  from  heaven  ! 

Star  of  my  soul  !  Unchanging  Star  !  — ■ 
Fair  wanderer  through  '  realms  of  light  V 

Although  thy  beams  are  shed  afar. 
On  other  lands  to-night. — 

Although  the  glorious  golden  dreams 
That  made  my  past  a  •'  Holy  Land/' 

(Where  fountains  sang  whose  crystal  stream- 
Purled  OVer  silver  sand.  ) 


72  STELLA. 

Long  since  have  flown ;  my  soul  returns- 
A  pilgrim,  to  a  shattered  shrine, 

Whose  vestal  light  still  sadly  burns 
In  memory  of  thine. 

Bright  star,  arise.  I  pine  for  thee  ! 

Flash  through  the  angry  clouds  afar ! 
Earth  has  no  other  light  for  me — 

My  sky  no  other  star ! 

Beam  !  softly  beam  !   Dispel  my  gloom  ! 

Drive  fear  and  shadow  far  away! 
Bid  hyacinthine  hopes  to  bloom 

And  Spring  forever  stay  ! 


DULCAMARA. 


Oft  when  the  sunlight's  golden  gleam 

Has  died  upon  our  sorrow  ; 
We  sink  in  sleep, — perchance  to  dream 

Of  happiness  to-morrow. 

We  fain  would  banish  thoughts  of  ill, 

Or  smile  at  their  intrusion  ; 
And  oft  deluded,  madly  still 

Cling  to  each  sweet  illusion. 

Dawn  brings  no  day,  and  Spring  no  bloom  ; 

Earth  seems  a  sad  Sahara  ; 
'Till  Hope  returning,  gilds  the  gloom 

And  leads  to — wells  of  Marah  ! 
73 


74  DULCAMARA. 

Yet,  is  it  not  far  better  thus, 

To  be  forever  cheated  ? — 
How  dark  would  be  the  world  to  us 

Were  not  the  cheat  repeated. 

What  though  our  castles,  reared  in  air. 

Begin,  so  soon,  to  crumble  j 
Hope  is  a  refuge  from  despair 

When  all  their  turrets  tumble ! 

But  wo  to  those  who' wake  to  weep 
The  visions  they  have  cherished, 

And  may  not  find  again  in  sleep 
The  phantoms  which  have  perished  I 

One  such  I  know,  within  whose  heart 
Hope  has  no  more  a  dwelling ; — 

From  whose  dark  dreams,  no  whispers  start 
Of  peace  and  joy  foretelling  ! 


THE  LIGHT  OF  THE  LATTICE. 

A   FRAGMENT. 


She  little  dreams  that  I  to-ni<>;ht 

Peer  out,  through  the  mist  and  the  rain, 
To  catch  one  glimmering  gleam  of  light 
From  a  far-off  window-pane; 
But  the  light  that  shines 
Through  the  jessamine  vines, 
Which  around  her  casement  creep; 
Dispels  with  its  beams, 
The  sweetest  of  dreams 
And  awakens  me  out  of  my  sleep  ! 


MY  HOPES  LIKE  WANING  WATCH-FIRES 
GLOW- 

I. 

My  hopes  like  waning  watch-flres  glow, 

Whose  lurid  flames,  though  burning  low, 
Still  flicker  wildly,  to  and  fro  j — 

They  brightly  gleam, — again  retire  ; — 
Revive,  and  sparkle  to  expire, 

Yet  loth  forever  to  depart 
They  to  the  ghastly  embers  start, 

And  die  to  leave  a  darker  shade 
Where  erst  their  fiitful  flashes  played 

II. 

My  hopes  are  like  the  hopes  that  fail 
The  seaman  shipwrecked  in  the  gale — 

Unheeded  by  the  passing  sail : 
As  fades  the  sunlight  from  the  clouds, 
76 


MY  HOPES,   ETC.  77 

The  smiles  that  hailed  her  snowy  shrouds* 
Die  on  our  lips : — His  drifting  spar, 

By  raging  billows  borne  afar, 

Perchance  may  safely  reach  the  shore, 

But  mine — is  tossed  forevermore. 

III.! 

My  hopes  are  songs,  a  siren  sung, 

And  flowers  her  fairy  fingers  flung 
Upon  a  rock,  to  which  they  clung ; 

They  bloomed  awhile  in  beauty  there, 
Then  perished  in  its  Alpine  air, 

And  now  that  rock  is  bare  and  bleak; 
Hie  lichen  shuns  its  haggard  peak, 

And  he  who  haunts  the  lonely  shore 
Shall  hear  the  siren  sing  no  more ! 


o 


*  The  author  is' fully  aware  that  "shrouds"  are  not  "snowy." 
But,  aside  from  poetic  license,  the  same  figure  of  speech  which  sub- 
stitutes "sail"  for  "vessel,"  will  sanction,  he  opines,  the  use  of 
"shrouds"  in  lieu  of  "  sails,"  to  which  the  epithet  used  would  be 
more  appropriate. 


TEAR  DOWN  THAT  FLAG! 


Tear  down  the  flag  of  constellated  stars ! 

Blot  out  its  field  of  blue  ! 
And  suffer  only  "  the  red  planet  Mars"* 

To  shed  its  ghastly  hue — 
Let  only  now  his  beams  of  baleful  light 

Burst  like  a  beacon  on  the  gloom  of  night ! 

Trail  in  the  dust  the  Tyrant's  standard  sheet ! 

;Twas  erst  the  flag  of  Tyrant's  fiercest  foes ; 
It  now  shall  be  the  symbol  of  defeat — 

Shall  droop  prophetic  of  impending  woes 
To  those  who  stand  where  hero-martyrs  stood, 

And  Cain-like,  clamor  for  their  brother's  blood ! 


:  The  first  watch  of  the  night  is  given 
To  the  red  planet  Mars. — Longfellow. 

78 


TEAR    DOWN    THAT    FLAG.  79 

Tear  down  that  flag  !  Its  skies  to  sable  turn ; 

Fast  fades  each  "  stripe  of  pure  celestial  white," 
Its  bickering  stars  to  sparkless  embers  burn, 

Its  Eagle  skulks  the  light ! 
A  vulture  now,  he  wings  his  sluggish  flight 

To  nestle  with  the  noisome  birds  of  ni'rht ! 

Tear  down  that  flag  !     It  flouts  the  breeze, 
A  flagrant— flaunting  insult  to  the  sky; 

Disgraced  at  home  — dishonored  on  the  seas, 
Its  coward  colors  fly, 

From  field  to  field  ingloriously  driven, 

With  stars  eclipsed  and  stripes  all  rudely  riven ! 


E^HLIER  POEMS. 


FLOWERS  FOR  MARY. 


Though  thou  beloved,  mayst  never  know- 
Mayst  never  carelessly  bestow 
One  idle  look  upon  the  giver ; 
Within  whose  soul  each  glance  of  thine, 

(A  ray  of  light  almost  divide) 
Shall  in  celestial  beauty  shine, 
Forever  and  forever, 
Like  stars  reflected  on  the  breast 
Of  a  serene,  unruffled  tarn, 
That  slumbers  on  the  cloudy  crest 
Of  a  majestic  mountain  cairn; 
Yet  I  have  brought  from  forest  glade 

80 


FLOWEKS    FOR    MARY.  81 

From  crystal  fount  and  sylvan  shade, 
(Where  I  secreted  oft  have  seen 
The  flower-laden  fairy) 
A  coronet  of  living  green 
For  thee,  bewitching  Mary  ! 
Spurn  not  the  sacrifice  I  bring, 
Love's  frail  though  fragrant  offering, — 
These  fading  flowers,  that  droop  and  die, 
Pale  exiles  from  their  native  sky  ! 
Some  hues  of  Eden  still  they  wear, 

Born  of  auroral  light, 
Ere  sin,  and  sorrow,  and  despair 
On  raven  wings  had  entered  there, 

To  wither  and  to  blight. 

Fain  would  I  linger  here  and  twine, 
While  steal  away  the  starlit  hours, 

A  wreath  of  snow-white  jessamine, 
And  crown  thee  Queen  of  Flowers ; 

But  I  may  now  no  longer  rest 
Beneath  thy  lattice  love  ! 

Pale  Dian  hides  her  diamond  crest 


82  FLOWERS   FOR   MARY. 

And  seeks  the  shady  grove  ; 
Her  train  into  a  cloud  withdrawn 
Are  waiting  for  the  coming  dawn ; 

I  can  no  longer  stay  : 
In  yonder  copse  methought  I  heard 
The  note  of  an  awakened  bird; 

'Tis  near  the  dawn  of  day; 
The  morning  star  grcTrs  wan  and  pale, 
And  Night  forsakes  the  misty  vale, 

I  too  must  haste  away  ! 
Farewell !  a  lingering  farewell 
My  Life — My  Love,  to  thee  ! 
This  fading  wreath  alone  may  tell 
How  strange — how  potent  is  the  spell 
One  sunny  smile  of  thine  has  thrown 
Around  the  heart  of  your  unknown 
Enraptured  devotee  I 


PERDITE! 


Farewell,  forever  to  the  dreams 

(Alluring  dreams !)  whose  fitful  light, 

Revealed  a  land  where  sorrows's  night 
Can  never  veil  the  golden  beams 

Of  life,  and  hope,  and  love  I 

Farewell  to  Heaven  !   Why  linger  now 
In  wild  regret  before  the  Cross  ? 

'Tis  powerless  :  Eternal  Loss 

Corrodes  my  heart ; — seals  on  my  brow, 

The  blackness  of  despair. 

What  care  I  now  how  long  the  fire 
Of  life  within  my  bosom  burns, 

Since  Jesus  now  no  more  returns ; 
But  bids  each  lingering  hope  expire 

And  veils  his  lovely  face? 
83 


84  PERDITE. 

Ah  !  what  to  me  is  wealth  or  faniS  ? 
A  sunbeam  glimmering  on  a  pall ; 

From  some  high  pinnacle  to  fall ; 
To  leave  on  earth  an  envied  name, 

And  then — to  pass  away. 

Farewell !  Farewell !     I  may  not  stay 
Where  hope's   last    "  rare  and   radiant 
flower 

To  ashes  fell : — in  that  sad  hour 
The  golden  sunlight  fled  away 

And  left  Eternal  Shade  ! 


THE  SUNBEAM, 


Thing  of  beauty  !  brightly  gleaming, 
Softly  through  my  lattice  streaming, 
To  my  spirit  thou  dost  seem 
Like  a  sweet  thought  in  a  dream  ; 
Linger  yet  a  little  while, 
Still  my  loneliness  beguile  ! 

Brilliant  Sunbeam  !  thou  dost  bring 
On  thy  gleaming — golden  wing, 
Life  and  gladness,  light  and  love, 
From  the  firmament  above ; 
Thou  dost  change  the  morning  mist 
Into  sparkling  amethyst ! 

85 


86  THE   SUNBEAM. 

Messenger  from  realms  of  light! 
Thou  art  beautiful  and  bright ; 
How  resplendent  then  is  He, 
Sunbeam,  who  created  thee ; — 
Called  thee  from  chaotic  night, — 
Bade  thee  sparkle  in  his  sight  ? 

Shining  harbinger  of  Spring  ! 
All  the  earth  is  blossoming, 
At  the  earliest  "  peep  of  dawn," 
In  the  woodland — on  the  lawn 
Songs  of  welcome  may  be  heard — 
Matins  of  the  mocking-bird. 

Welcome  !  bright,  celestial  ray  ! 
Where  thou  dwellest  it  is  day ; 
When  thou  wanderest  afar — 
When  I  hail  the  Evening  Star, 
Then  sweet  sunbeam  !  I  shall  see 
But  a  burning  type  of  thee  ! 


HORJ;  HALCYONS. 


*'0,  Death  in  Life,  the  days  that  are  no  more." 

Tennyson. 

Ye  hours  that  minutes  seemed, 
As  minutes  seem  in  heaven  ! 
(Should  this  impiety  be  deemed 

I  pray  to  be  forgiven  ; 
Because — it  is  my  only  plea — 
I  spent  those  halcyon  hours, 
With  her  who  was,  and  is  to  me, 
What  to  the  butterfly  and  bee, 
Were  Hybla's  sweetest  flowers.) 
Oh  !  happy — happy  time  : 
To  what  celestial  clime  ? — 
Through  what  enchanted  realms  of  dreams 
Where  all  that  is  and  all  that  seems, 

Is  beautiful  and  bright; 

87 


88  HOR£)   HALCYONS. 

Doth  Fancy — the  bewitching  sprite — 

Lead  Memory  astray? 
Why  am  I  here  alas!  to-night, 
And  that  sweet  land  of  love  and  light, 

So  far  away  ? 

*         *         *         *         *         *         * 

Sweet  sunbeams  of  a  summer  flown  ! 

Which  nothing  might  eclipse 
Save  the  seraphic  smiles  which  shone 

Upon  her  ruby  lips ; 
Say !  is  the  past,  forever  past  ? 

Why  have  ye  fled  afar  ? 
Your  flight  hath  ushered  in  at  last 

A  night  without  a  star : 

Stars  are  invisible  by  day — 
The  moon  hath  no  diurnal  ray : 

And  hence  bright  children  of  the  sun 
Your  beauty  then  I  heeded  not, 
For  lesser  lights — it  is  their  lot — 
Are  all  unnoticed — all  forgot, 


HOIUE   HALCYONS.  89 

When  burns  a  brighter  one ! 
But  now  since  her  averted  eyes, 
Lend  summer-light  to  other  skies — 

Leave  wintry  gloom  to  these  ; 
Bright  sunbeams  !  ye  at  length  arise 
From  out  those  treacherous  seas; 
Whence  wild  regret,  evoketh  yet 

Tormenting  memories ; 
For  their  bright  billows  evermore, 
Caress  the  flower-enamelled  shore, 

Where  Hope's  frail  barque  at  anchor  lay; 
And  whence  beneath  a  summer-sky, 
It  sailed  a  shattered  hulk  to  lie 

On  breakers  far  away: 
But  could  I  now  awhile  forget 

The  dreams  of  other  days; 
Or  never — never  more  regret, 

Far — far  diviner  rays — 
Cease  one  bright  spirit  to  adore — 
Cease  her  sweet  presence  to  implore, 
Tlien  might  your  loveliness  impart, 
Light,  hope  and  rapture  to  my  heart. 


90  RORM  HALCYONS. 

Ye  hours  that  minutes  seemed, 

As  minutes  seem  in  heaven ! 

Whose  light  to  me  is  that  which  beamed 

On  man  from  Eden  driven ! 

Haste  !  hither  haste  ! — dispel  my  gloom — 

Once  more  the  lamp  of  hope  illume — 

Bid  blighted  flowers  again  to  bloom 

And  whisper  "  All's  forgiven"  ! 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


Life  is  the  tossing  here  awhile 

On  a  tumultuous  sea; 
With,  now  and  then,  a  sunlight  smile, 
Or  glimpse  of  an  enchanted  isle, 

Far  in  futurity. 

Death  is  the  closing  of  the  day, 
The  lulling  of  the  wind ; — 
The  twilight  shades  in  sad  array 
Bearing  the  setting  sun  away, 
And  leaving  night  behind. 

91 


92  LIFE   AND   DEATH. 

Life  is  the  never  ending  day — 

The  never  setting  sun  ; 
The  passing  of  each  cloud  away, — 
One  blooming,  bright,  eternal  May, 

Where  Love  and  Hope  are  one. 

Aye  !  Death  like  Night  bids  Morning  rise 

Beyond  the  misty  sea, 
The  sun  to  burn  in  brighter  skies — 
The  soul  to  dwell  in  Paradise 

Through  all  Eternity  I 


THE  COMBATANTS. 


There  light  and  shadow  meet 

And  mingle,  and  retreat ) 
Beautiful  Hope,  and  wan  Despair, 

Wage  a  fearful  conflict  there 
For  an  empty  throne  : 

There  is  no  Night,  there  is  no  Day — 
Nor  have  they,  alternate  sway; 

One  must  reign  alone', 
But  neither  of  the  twain 
Weareth  yet 
The  coronet, 

Or  rules  the  proud  domain. 
******* 

Faith  and  Mercy — Truth  and  Hope 

"With  the  M  powers  of  Darkness"  cope, 

All  the  pure  and  all  the  bright 

From  the  radiant  "  realms  of  light," 
93 


94  THE   COMBATANTS. 

Serried,  stand  upon  "  the  right;" 

On  "  the  left"  in  grim  array- 
See  !  the  bannered  host  of  Hell 

Bushing  to  the  dread  affray 

Marshalled  by  the  Fiend  who  fell; — 

By  that  Gloom,  a  Glory  erst, 
Who  by  foul  ambition  first 

Lost  his  high  estate  and  fell : — 

Him — the  Outlawed — the  Accursed  ; 
Who  dareth  still, — 
And  ever  will — 

Vainly — madly  to  rebel. 

O'er  the  legions  of  the  Lost, 
By  each  wave  of  battle  tossed, 

The  red  oriflamme  of  Hell, 
Rose — alternate,  rose  and  fell : 

Hither — thither  wildly  driven 
With  the  ebb  and  flow  of  tide, 

Streamed  the  holy  flag  of  Heaven — 
Emblem  of  the   Crucified  I 

Brighter  than  the  Morning  Star, 
Beamed  that  sacred  sign  afar;-~ 


THE  COMBATANTS.  95 

On  the  scowling  front  of  war  ! 
******* 

Half  light — half  cloud  the  sky  that  stood 

Above  that  fearful  field  of  blood  ; 
Forth  from  the  cloud  flashed  the  red  levin ; 
Stars  gemmed  the  other  half  of  heaven ; 
And  where  their  beams  the  shadows  met, 
As  though  some  pallid  sun  had  set, 

A  livid — lurid — ghastly  glare 
Or  lit,  or  gloomed  the  upper  air  ! 

But  hark  !  a  wild  despairing  yell 
Of  baffled  rage — of  deadly  fear 

Bursts  from  the  frantic  fiends  of  Hell 
Upon  the  universal  ear  ! 

Their  crested  leader  calls  in  vain 
His  clansmen  to  the  charge  again ; 

Death,  Destruction,  Pain  and  Wo, 
Struggling — battling  to  and  fro, 
Madly  urge  their  ruined  ranks 
To  form  once  more  the  proud  phalanx  ; 
Now  blindly  rush  the  reeking  studs, 
Again  like  tempest-shaken  reeds 


96  THE   COMBATANTS. 

Those  stalwart  riders  reel  and  rock 
Tumultuous  in  the  battle  shock ! 
******* 

The  Cross  more  brightly  gleams  on  high ; 
They  fail ! — they  fly  ! — the  Demons  fly ! 

Like  lightning-riven 

Storm-clouds  driven 
Athwart  a  midnight  sky ! 
They  fly !— they  fly  !— they  fly! 
Like  the  shifting  sand  of  the  desert-plain, 

Or  the  feathery  foam  of  the  angry  main, 

When  uplifted — 

Winnowed — sifted — 
Swept  in  frantic  fury  on, 

By  those  harvesters  of  Doom — 
Those  dread  reapers  for  the  tomb, — 

Tempestuous  Euroclydon  ! 

Pestiferous  Simoom! 

The  Holy  Babe  of  Bethlehem— 
The  Lamb  of  God — the  Crucified — 

The  Bridegroom  of  the  ready  Bride 
Hath  won,  and  wears  the  diadem ! 


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